Adrian Spear

Sharepoint Install Failed - unable to locate .... hosts file

I have seen another error which cropped up during my install/uninstalls and occurred after I installed and created site collections using the Configuration Wizard to create the web sites.

When I uninstalled MOSS it appears that the uninstall procedure also (*very helpfully!*) removed my hosts file from my server 2003 IIS 6 box. When I attempted to re-install MOSS the installation phase failed because the install was unable to locate my hosts file. I missed it at first and attempted to re-install to the same effect.

I created a new hosts file and it installed just fine next time around (natch!)

Moral :: Even if you think you've seen the error screen before - read it again anyways!